Development of a dynamic hypothermia protocol for hearing loss prevention

About This Grant

Project Summary/Abstract Noise-induced hearing loss is one of the most prevalent and irreversible forms of sensorineural hearing loss, affecting approximately 40 million American adults. It significantly reduces quality of life and is associated with cognitive decline, depression, and social isolation. While hearing aids and cochlear implants partially restore auditory function, they fail to replicate natural hearing and may introduce further auditory damage. Prevention remains a promising pathway to preserving auditory health, especially for individuals exposed to occupational or therapeutic risks, such as firefighters, military personnel, and chemotherapy patients. Among the various approaches studied for hearing preservation therapeutic hypothermia (MTH) has emerged as the most clinically translatable option. However, evidence suggests current mild therapeutic hypothermia devices deliver suboptimal spatial temperature distributions and lack the precision needed to uniformly cool critical cochlear structures. A transformative approach is used in this project to enhance mild therapeutic hypothermia for hearing loss prevention. Computational modeling, experimental validation, and device development will be integrated to design a new non-invasive cooling strategy that accounts for anatomical variability and vascular heat transfer. Specifically, a multiphysics model of the cochlea and surrounding vasculature will be constructed to evaluate how blood flow affects cooling dynamics during mild therapeutic hypothermia. Using insights from simulation and cadaveric studies, an advanced cooling device will be fabricated to deliver targeted, uniform hypothermia to the cochlear region. Rapid onset, spatial uniformity, and safety will be prioritized, minimizing adverse effects such as overcooling. Comparative analysis will be conducted against existing devices using ex vivo and in vitro methods to quantify efficacy in achieving desired thermal profiles. The results are expected to define the thermodynamic parameters and spatial targets essential for optimal hypothermic neuroprotection of the cochlea. In addition to technical advancements, the project will serve as a training platform for undergraduates and graduate students, offering interdisciplinary exposure to computational modeling, experimental bioengineering, and auditory neuroscience. By addressing key limitations of current mild therapeutic hypothermia systems, this work will lay the foundation for next-generation cooling devices with the potential to significantly reduce the incidence of noise-induced hearing loss. These contributions will support future clinical investigations and provide a reproducible research model for non-invasive auditory preservation techniques. The in-silico model developed here may also serve as a virtual microscope to explore and optimize emerging hearing preservation strategies.